PuTTY

What is PuTTY?

PuTTY is a long-standing terminal emulator and network client originally developed for Windows, now available natively on Linux. It supports SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connections, and can also interface with serial ports. Despite its origins, the Linux version integrates well with desktop environments and benefits from years of refinement.

It's ideal for system administrators, network engineers, and developers who need reliable, lightweight access to remote machines. If you're used to managing servers via command line or configuring network hardware, PuTTY provides a familiar, no-frills interface. It’s especially useful when you need fine control over connection settings or work in environments without GUI-based tools.

Compared to Windows, it feels more at home—especially when launched from the terminal or integrated into workflows. Unlike TeamViewer, which is for GUI remote control, PuTTY is strictly for text-based access. It doesn’t replace TeamViewer but fills the same niche as the original PuTTY on Windows: fast, secure shell access without overhead.

Best for: Users needing a simple, reliable SSH or serial client for remote server or device access.

Key features of PuTTY

• SSH, Telnet, and Rlogin client support
• Serial port connection capability
• Raw socket connections for custom services
• SCP and SFTP file transfer support
• Configurable session profiles and saved settings
• Tabbed interface in some packaged versions
• Cross-platform with consistent behavior
• Lightweight and fast startup

Tips for Windows users

If you're coming from Windows PuTTY, your session names and settings won't carry over directly—recreate them in the Linux version. Keyboard shortcuts are mostly the same, but copy/paste uses standard Linux conventions (highlight to copy, middle-click to paste). You can launch it from the terminal with 'putty' or via desktop menu, and it integrates better with X11 selections.

Recent releases

• 0.85 — August 16, 2026

  - Security issue: fixed a remotely triggerable use-after-free in Pageant. (Might be exploitable to execute code, although this is not proved.) - Security issue: fixed a remotely triggerable buffer overflow if the OpenSSH encrypt-then-MAC cipher modes are in…

• 0.84 — May 22, 2026

  - Security issue: fixed a remotely triggerable double-free in RSA key exchange. (We don't know of any way it is exploitable to execute code.) - Minor security issue: fixed a remotely triggerable crash in NIST ECDSA signature verification. (An assertion…

• 0.83 — February 8, 2025

  - Support for ML-KEM, the NIST-standardised post-quantum key exchange mechanism. (In addition to NTRU Prime, which has been supported since 0.78.) - Support for full Unicode file names in Windows file selector dialogs. (However, these do not yet round-trip…

• 0.82 — November 28, 2024

  - Major refactoring of Unicode handling to allow the use of 'foreign' Unicode characters, i.e. outside the system's configured default character set / code page. Not yet complete, but the following things work: - Windows console: usernames and passwords…